Author(s): Desmond Woods (Editor)

Military

Flying Stations II is a chronology of the last quarter-century of Australian Fleet Air Arm activities and events from 1998 until 2022. Published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the FAA on 3 July 2022, it follows the original 1998 volume of Flying Stations which chronicled the first 50 years of the FAA.The period 1998-2022 saw much expansion and activity within the FAA, including the welcome return of large flight decks to the RAN in the form of the LHDs HMAS Canberra and Adelaide. A long-time FAA workhorse, the Sea King, was retired while new fleets of MRH-90 Taipans and MH-60R Seahawks were introduced. HMAS Albatross also welcomed ADF helicopter training operations with the Eurocopter EC-135T2+ which replaced the long-serving AS350B Squirrels. The FAA also saw its share of challenges during this time. The ill-fated Seasprite acquisition resulted in a litany of failures before the program was cancelled in 2008. The crash of Sea King Shark 02 in Indonesia in 2005 was a traumatic event that saw the loss nine lives. The subsequent inquiry identified serious shortcomings in FAA maintenance and operational practices which subsequently led to much needed organisational and cultural change.As a pointer to future directions, 822X Squadron was formed in 2018 as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development unit. The story of Australian naval aviation is a proud and unique one. Flying Stations II captures the activities and ethos of the many hard-working men and women continuing the tradition of the FAA to the present day.